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10 biggest NBA trade deadline deals of past 25 years

Those who don't study NBA trade deadline history are doomed to repeat it. Today's 3 p.m. ET deadline undoubtedly will lead general managers and presidents of basketball operations into rash decisions. Some

Those who don't study NBA trade deadline history are doomed to repeat it.

Thursday's 3 p.m. ET deadline undoubtedly will lead general managers and presidents of basketball operations into rash decisions. Some will work. Some won't. But by reviewing the 10 biggest deadline deals of the past 25 years, we can pick up on trends and better serve our expectations.

JaVale McGee had to go. Washington Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld made the decision to clean house of all the knuckleheads from the Gilbert Arenas years, and McGee was an obvious trade choice. So Grunfeld found suitors in the Denver Nuggets, eager to get the explosive 7-footer in exchange for injury-prone but skilled veteran Nene. The deal has worked out for both sides (the Clippers also were involved for insignficant parts), with McGee playing a limited role with remarkable efficiency and Nene providing an anchor for a young team. The chemistry made the deal work.

Mark Jackson makes his teammates look good, which is why the Indiana Pacers regretted trading him in 1996. They brought him back from the Nuggets a year later, signing on for Jackson's hefty salary and pairing him with Rose for a potent playmaking duo. The deal didn't cost the Pacers much, either, because the Nuggets wanted to cut salary. Jackson led the Pacers to two Eastern Conference finals and an NBA Finals, showcasing the value of familiarity in midseason deals.

8. The Celtics get soft. (2011)

Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson weren't members of the Boston Celtics' big three-plus-one, but they were valuable contributors to the 2008 championship team and 2010 runner-up. Then they traded them to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic. Boston finished last in the NBA in rebounding in 2011-12 while also lacking bench scoring. The Thunder meanwhile used Perkins as their enforcer in the paint and have reached new heights with him in the lineup. Toughness is a comodity.

7. Jeff Hornacek finds his destiny. (1994)

The Philadelphia 76ers tried to make Hornacek a point guard. When he failed, they traded him to the Utah Jazz for Jeff Malone, a shooting guard. Then Hornacek joined John Stockton and moved back to shooting guard himself, where he was better for longer than Malone and helped the Jazz reach consecutive NBA Finals. Philadelphia never realized that it already had what it wanted.

6. Tim Hardaway takes his talents to South Beach. (1996)

Tim Hardaway became a staple for the Heat.(Photo: Tony Gutierrez, AP)

For all the wrong reasons, Golden State Warriors coach Rick Adelman stuck Hardaway in a sixth-man role in 1995-96. So Hardaway, one of the NBA's best point guards for the five previous seasons, complained. It worked. The Miami Heat took advantage of his lowered stock and acquired him and Chris Gatling for reserve Bimbo Coles and aging Kevin Willis. Hardaway started and starred for the Heat for the next 5½ seasons, becoming a classic case of how to buy low when a player needs a change in scenery.

5. The Sonics and Bucks swap stars. (2003)

Gary Payton is the greatest player in Seattle SuperSonics history, but that wasn't going to prevent him from chasing a ring elsewhere to end his career. So the Sonics gave him up after 12½ seasons, and they got back their next great player, Ray Allen. The Milwaukee Bucks didn't need Payton, but they were shedding salary. They haven't won a playoff series since. Salary dumps are necessary at times, but giving up on a superstar in his prime is never a good idea.

4. The Cavaliers give up on a rookie. (1988)

Giving up on a top-10 pick as a rookie is never a good idea, either. Kevin Johnson wasn't going to get much playing time behind Mark Price for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but they drafted him seventh overall in 1987. Then they ditched him, sending him and two draft picks to the Phoenix Suns for a package centered on Larry Nance. Nance was a good player, but Johnson developed into an All-Star. Oh, and one of those draft picks was used on Dan Majerle, who joined Johnson, Charles Barkley and Tom Chambers as the heart of the Suns' 1993 Western Conference championship team.

3. Everyone gets a new point guard. (1999)

This deal was inordinately complicated but can be boiled down to this: Stephon Marbury for Sam Cassell for Terrell Brandon. The New Jersey Nets gave up the most to get the least, sending away Cassell, the best of the three point guards, and a first-round draft pick (which ended up being in the top 10) for Marbury and scraps. Marbury had immeasurable potential but already was showing the ego that enveloped his career. The Nets had made progress with Cassell but fell apart with Marbury, while the Minnesota Timberwolves stayed on track with Brandon and the Bucks improved by pairing Cassell and Allen. The Nets overlooked personality in favor of talent and paid.

The Philadelphia 76ers were a second superstar away from serious contention, but Allen Iverson liked the basketball to much to get along with most. So they made the move to pursue the only superstar who didn't care for offense. Trading Theo Ratliff and a few role players for Mutombo gave the 76ers the defense to match Iverson's offense and lifted the team into the 2001 Finals. Ratliff proceeded to miss most of his first full season with the Atlanta Hawks, who did find a sleeper in Nazr Mohammed.

1. Rasheed Wallace wins a championship. (2004)

This complicated three-team trade cost the Detroit Pistons a first-round pick that ended up being this deadline's top target, Josh Smith, but it's impossible to say it didn't work out. Wallace joined the most balanced team in the NBA as the missing piece and helped the Pistons stun the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals. That's what any deadline deal is supposed to do.